118 Unexpected Situation
Seeing that Xiao Huai actually denied her crime, even Lin Ran couldn’t help but be infuriated.
Lin Ran flipped his wrist and pointed the standard sword at Xiao Huai’s throat. “You still want to deny it? The villagers died exactly the same way as those people from the Eight Directional Mountain. Are you still going to deny it?”
Xiao Huai glanced at the shiny sword at her neck, her hollow eyes filled with disdain. “I always thought you were a smart person, but I didn’t expect you to be a fool… If I did it, why wouldn’t I dare to admit it?”
Lin Ran was speechless.
That’s right. Xiao Huai had already admitted that she had killed more than a thousand people. Why would she care about adding a few thousand more?
If she was afraid that Lin Ran would make her die too miserably, it would be even more ridiculous. She was a demon born in Sword Grave. The so-called “pain” was nothing in front of her.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Ran moved the blade back half an inch. “Did you really not kill the people in those villages? Then who did you kill?”
“Those people from the Eight Directional Mountain.”
Xiao Huai replied without hesitation, “Only killing those with evil intentions can help me cultivate. Killing others is meaningless to me.”
Lin Ran narrowed his eyes at Xiao Huai. His rationality kept telling him that the person in front of him was a demon who would do anything to achieve her goal, so he couldn’t believe everything she said!
However, at the same time, Lin Ran had a strong feeling that Xiao Huai was not lying. The remains of the Sword God in the secret passage of Mount Sword were proof of that.
There were no clothes on the bones of the Eight Directional Mountain. Lin Ran didn’t know if it had been sucked away by Xiao Huai, but there were thousands of bones, which was enough to show that Xiao Huai had a habit of sucking flesh and blood.
When Lin Ran discovered the Sword God’s remains, it was clearly covered in clothes. This meant that the Sword God’s flesh and blood weren’t sucked away, and it also verified Xiao Huai’s words that only those with evil intentions could help her cultivate.
However, if the people from the seven villages were not killed by Xiao Huai, who would do such a cruel thing?
After being conflicted for a while, Lin Ran finally made up his mind and threw the sword in his hand far away.
“I believe you.”
Lin Ran gritted his teeth and looked at Xiao Huai, his originally calm face filled with conflict. “Second question, why are you looking for this secret room?”
“In order to shatter the void and ascend.”
Xiao Huai replied frankly, “There’s a secret room in the Hidden Sword Pavilion. I want to find a sword inside… Don’t ask. I don’t know the name of that sword, but that person said that as long as I enter the secret room, I’ll know which sword I’m looking for.”
“That person?”
Lin Ran instantly grasped the key. There was something he couldn’t figure out previously.
It was Xiao Huai’s first time in the palace. How could she know about the secret room of the Hidden Sword Pavilion? It had to be noted that this was not a famous place. Even the old people who had been in the palace for decades might not know about the existence of the secret room.
From the looks of it, Xiao Huai seemed to have been used by someone.
Thinking of this, Lin Ran hurriedly asked, “Who is the ‘that person’ you mentioned? Why did he help you?”
Xiao Huai looked straight at Lin Ran with hollow eyes. “I’m done answering you two questions.”
Lin Ran narrowed his eyes and looked at the Ten Miles Dragon Roar that was inches away from him. After weighing the pros and cons for a moment, he finally raised his foot and stepped on the stone staircase. “Let’s go. I’ll open the door for you.”
Xiao Huai nodded and shook the rattle drum in her hand a few times. A few standard swords separated from the “huge sword” and pointed at Lin Ran’s back.
“Don’t play tricks, or I’ll kill you immediately.”
Xiao Huai said coldly with a murderous aura.
Lin Ran shrugged and walked down the stone staircase and quickly disappeared into the darkness.
Xiao Huai waited for a while more before following down. As she left the Hidden Sword Pavilion, the black fog began to dissipate, and the Hidden Sword Pavilion, which was already wrapped in black fog, slowly appeared.
As the last wisp of black fog flowed into the secret passage, the “huge sword” floating in the air lost control and fell to the ground with a clang.
The sound of blades colliding spread in the night. Huo Qiyun moved his ears and jumped onto the roof.
The empress also heard the sound, but because she couldn’t jump so high, she could only ask anxiously from below, “Qiyun! What’s going on over there?”
Huo Qiyun quickly said, “The black fog around the Hidden Sword Pavilion has dissipated, but it’s quiet inside. I don’t know what exactly is going on.”
The empress frowned slightly. “Is there a signal?”
“No.”
“Is there anything abnormal?”
Huo Qiyun thought for a moment before jumping to the ground. He looked at the empress and asked seriously, “Everything is normal… Is it considered abnormal?”
“Everything is normal?”
The empress’s expression immediately turned solemn. Lin Ran and the demon were both Half-Saints. She wouldn’t be surprised if the Hidden Sword Pavilion was reduced to ashes, but now, there was no movement at all. It was indeed abnormal.
In the empress’s opinion, there were only two possibilities.
The first possibility was that the demon had been convinced by Lin Ran, so the two of them did not fight, but the possibility was almost zero.
The second possibility was that the demon or Lin Ran was abnormally powerful. One of them was instantly killed before he could make a move.
“Wait another fifteen minutes.”
After weighing the pros and cons, the empress said, “In fifteen minutes, if there’s still no signal from Lin Ran, we’ll rush in!”
“Not you though.”
Huo Qiyun corrected her softly. Then, he looked at the empress seriously. “I promise I’ll wait for another fifteen minutes, but you have to leave immediately!”
Before the empress could say anything, Huo Qiyun continued, “There’s no room for negotiation on this matter. If things really develop to that extent, everyone in the palace will have to leave. Only you can give this order!”
The empress frowned at Huo Qiyun. It was obvious that she was still hesitating, but in the end, she nodded. “Be careful. No matter what happens, you have to come back alive!”
“Don’t worry, I haven’t lived enough!”
Huo Qiyun smiled. After the empress walked away, the smile on his face instantly disappeared.
“Commander Chen.”
Huo Qiyun called the guard commander over and instructed seriously, “If I don’t come back in 15 minutes, retreat immediately.”
Commander Chen was stunned when he heard that. “Come back? Where are you going?”
Huo Qiyun didn’t say anything. He just looked in the direction of the Hidden Sword Pavilion, his eyes gradually turning solemn.